Femina has been capturing the essence of the Indian woman for 58 years now, and has evolved with her over the years bringing the world to her doorstep. And now, here's your chance to get the dope on everything--from celebrities and fashion, beauty and wellness, to lifestyle and relationships--delivered directly to your inbox. Plus expert tips, polls, contests and other interactive articles and a whole lot more!

The shocking gender pay gap in cricket explained

For long as we can remember, cricket has been considered a man’s sport. Indians bleed blue only for their beloved ‘Men in Blue’. In an inherently patriarchal society, it comes as no surprise that the crux of this problem is the media’s portrayal of men’s cricket. It’s common knowledge that media forums consciously choose to shine the spotlight largely on men’s sports, leaving the equally-deserving women sports behind in the dust. The masses feed on this biased advertisement of men’s sports, fuelling its distribution. Women’s sports thus fail to get the exposure they deserve and in turn, lose out on sponsorships. The cycle is vicious.

Mithali Raj, captain of the Indian cricket, is awarded a contract fee of INR 50 lakh per year by the BCCI in comparison to Virat Kohli, men’s team skipper, who takes home a whopping 7 crore. The discrimination is alarming, to say the least. The women’s cricket team lead by the formidable Raj, put in equal amounts of sweat and blood, if not more, and are still paid less than half of what the men’s team rake in. While it must be taken into consideration that the women’s cricket team plays fewer matches compared to the men’s team, a disparity of less than half is shocking.

Here’s a breakup of the contract fee conferred to cricketers in 2018 by the BCCI:

Having the women’s team excel in cricket is a monumental step towards breaking stereotypes that sports cater only to men. Their efforts are visible, all they need is our support. Currently, the US women’s football team are battling for equal pay in the states and large corporations like Proctor and Gamble are publically announcing their support for the team.

It’s time to champion the women’s cricket team right to equal pay and works towards bridging the glaring gap. Let's do this!